Arrests among emotionally disturbed violent and assaultive individuals following minimal versus lengthy intervention through North Carolina's Willie M Program.
Time to first arrest after termination of Willie M Program services was compared in 2 groups of former clients. All Ss had met program criteria and "aged out" after their 18th birthday, but the two groups differed in duration and extent of intervention received: (a) A short-certification group (n = 21), because they turned 18 near the 1981 program start date, had received Willie M services for a mean of only 26 days (all cases less than 3 months); (b) a long-certification group (n = 147) averaged 896 days in the program (all cases greater than 1 year). The groups did not differ significantly in gender or race; geographic region; IQ; diagnosis according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd ed. (DSM-III, American Psychiatric Association, 1980); or age at earliest antisocial acts. A survival analysis compared the short and long groups on proportion avoiding arrest as a function of time since aging out. The long group showed slightly better arrest survival, but survival curves for the 2 groups did not differ reliably. Thus the program was not found to significantly reduce the risk of young adult arrests.
Weisz
J R
JR
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Walter
B R
BR
Weiss
B
B
Fernandez
G A
GA
Mikow
V A
VA
D000293:Adolescent; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D003134:Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D008297:Male; D009657:North Carolina; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014754:Violence